Orson Welles

Introduction & Top Questions
Early work
Theater and radio in the 1930s
At RKO: Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons
Films of the later 1940s: The Stranger, The Lady from Shanghai, and Macbeth
Films of the 1950s: Othello, Mr. Arkadin, and Touch of Evil
Later films: Chimes at Midnight, The Other Side of the Wind, and F for Fake

Quotes References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten stand among stacks of newspapers, both wearing suits and hats, in a scene from the film Citizen Kane.

John Abbott, Orson Welles, and Joan Fontaine in a black-and-white scene from the 1943 film Jane Eyre, with Fontaine in a bridal veil and gown beside stone walls.

Orson Welles as Michael O'Hara holds Rita Hayworth as Elsa Bannister in the hall of mirrors scene from The Lady from Shanghai, with their reflections visible around them.

Orson Welles as Harry Lime stands in a doorway wearing a dark overcoat and hat in a dramatic scene from the film The Third Man.

Orson Welles as Othello leans over Suzanne Cloutier as Desdemona, who lies on a bed with her eyes closed, in a dramatic scene from the 1951 film Othello.

At a Glance

Orson Welles summary

Quizzes

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia

USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood

Pop Culture Quiz

Robert Altman (1925-2006) Lobby card of actors Donald Sutherland, left, and Elliott Gould in the comedy film M*A*S*H (1970) directed by Robert Altman. MASH movie Korean War

A Movie Lesson

Related Questions

How did Gregg Toland help create the visual style of Citizen Kane?
How did Orson Welles begin his professional theater career in Dublin?
How did Orson Welles change the setting of Macbeth for the Federal Theatre Project?
How did Orson Welles finance and complete Othello?
How did Orson Welles make Macbeth on a low budget?
How did Orson Welles portray Falstaff in Chimes at Midnight?
How did Orson Welles work with John Houseman in the 1930s?
How did RKO alter The Magnificent Ambersons after poor test screenings?
How did Universal change Orson Welles’s original cut of Touch of Evil?
How did the War of the Worlds broadcast affect Orson Welles’s career?
How does Citizen Kane use flashbacks to tell Charles Foster Kane’s story?
How does F for Fake explore truth and forgery in art?
How was The Other Side of the Wind released in 2018?
How was a later version of Touch of Evil reconstructed using Orson Welles’s memo?
How widespread was the public panic caused by The War of the Worlds broadcast?
What does Rosebud represent in Citizen Kane?
What is Citizen Kane about?
What is The Other Side of the Wind about?
What is the opening tracking shot in Touch of Evil known for?
What role did Orson Welles play in The Stranger?
What talents did Orson Welles show as a child?
What was Orson Welles’s first film project?
What was the Mercury Theatre on the Air?
When and where was Orson Welles born?
When did Orson Welles die?
Where did Orson Welles go to school in Illinois?
Which Academy Award did Citizen Kane win?
Which Shakespeare plays did Orson Welles combine for Chimes at Midnight?
Which prize did Orson Welles’s Othello win at the Cannes Film Festival?
Which radio programs did Orson Welles perform in before The Mercury Theatre on the Air?
Which roles did Orson Welles play in Katharine Cornell’s touring theater company?
Who became Orson Welles’s guardian after his father died?
Who was Charles Foster Kane based on?
Who wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane?
Why are there several versions of Mr. Arkadin?
Why did RKO end its relationship with Orson Welles and Mercury Productions?
Why did RKO give Orson Welles unusual creative control over his films?
Why did The Lady from Shanghai conflict with Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn?
Why did some listeners mistake Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds broadcast for real news?
Why is Citizen Kane considered one of the greatest and most influential films?
Why is the hall-of-mirrors scene in The Lady from Shanghai famous?
Why was Citizen Kane added to the National Film Registry?
Why was Orson Welles’s film It’s All True left unfinished?
Why was The Other Side of the Wind not completed during Orson Welles’s lifetime?
Why was the Mercury Theatre’s Julius Caesar production notable?
Why was the opening of The Cradle Will Rock shut down?
What is Warren Beatty known for?
What is Edward Norton known for?
What movies has Edward Norton directed?
What was the cause of death for Sage Stallone?
Who is Lena Dunham?
What was Lena Dunham’s early education and career path?
What is the HBO series Girls about?
When was Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live?
What movies has Will Ferrell produced?
Who is Louis C.K.?

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External Websites

CBS News - The Orson Welles centenary
BBC Sounds - Breaking the Rules - O is for Orson
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction - Orson Welles
Internet Archive - Interviews with Orson Welles
Senses of Cinema - Orson Welles
National Endowment for the Humanities - The Fake News of Orson Welles
Wisconsin Historical Society - Orson Welles, 1915-1985
BFI - Where to begin with Orson Welles
Turner Classic Movies - Orson Welles
ABC listen - ABC Radio National|Big Ideas - The genius and struggles of Orson Welles
Director's Guild of America - Why Orson Welles still matters
Hollywood Walk of Fame - Orson Welles

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Orson Welles - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Orson Welles

American actor, director, and writer

Also known as: George Orson Welles

Written by

Michael Barson

Michael Barson is the author of more than a dozen books that examine various facets of American popular culture in the 20th century, about which he has been interviewed by National Public Radio on several...

Michael Barson

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026 •History

Orson Welles (born May 6, 1915, Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S.—died October 10, 1985, Los Angeles, California) was an American motion-picture actor, director, producer, and writer. His innovative narrative techniques and use of photography, dramatic lighting, and music to further the dramatic line and to create mood made his Citizen Kane (1941)—which he wrote, directed, produced, and acted in—one of the most-influential films in the history of the art. (Read Martin Scorsese’s Britannica essay on film preservation.)...

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